{"id":7392,"date":"2019-09-09T13:00:53","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T20:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/?p=7392"},"modified":"2019-09-03T07:01:27","modified_gmt":"2019-09-03T14:01:27","slug":"mark-watches-veronica-mars-s04e05-losing-streak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/markwatches.net\/reviews\/2019\/09\/mark-watches-veronica-mars-s04e05-losing-streak\/","title":{"rendered":"Mark Watches ‘Veronica Mars’: S04E05 – Losing Streak"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the fifth episode of the fourth season of Veronica Mars<\/i>, THIS IS ALL TOO MUCH. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to watch Veronica Mars<\/i>.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trigger Warning: For discussion of rape\/sexual assault.<\/b><\/p>\n

I really hope it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not Nicole. I think there might<\/i> be something to this new lead, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not sure she fits as the identity of the bomber. OH GOD I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M GETTING AHEAD OF MYSELF.<\/p>\n

Chaos<\/b><\/p>\n

This season in particular has done a fine job of throwing in a ton of variables and just unfurling them, one after another, until it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s basically impossible to guess what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to happen next. Part of why it also doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t feel like a bunch of writers throwing shit against the wall is because Neptune has always felt like such a real<\/i> city. Characters drop in and out of importance, but I remember saying during my watch of the first three seasons how realistic it felt that people re-appeared all the time. It gave the audience a sense for a living, breathing community in one place, but it also meant that there were a lot of characters at the writers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 disposal. I say all this and acknowledge that Linden is a new character, and yet? He felt exactly<\/i> like someone who lived in Neptune and thought he could disrespect the police chief because he owned an \u00e2\u20ac\u0153island.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d (Which seemed more like an island in designation than reality.) And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pretty amazing when Linden could also work as a parody or a satire! It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s sort of how I felt about all the random citizens in Parks & Recreation<\/i>. Yes, these characters were ridiculous, but also? Pawnee residents just feel so\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 easily categorizable? Like, I knew they belonged there. And Linden belongs<\/i> in Neptune.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Logan and Veronica<\/b><\/p>\n

Man, does everything I am watching or reading need to hit me deep in my feelings? Yes. Yes<\/i>. I am personally glad that Logan is not exactly the same as he was in the early seasons of the show. Seeing his growth\u00e2\u20ac\u201dparticularly due to going to therapy!!!\u00e2\u20ac\u201dis such a treat. Especially since I really, really<\/i> did not like Logan that much at the start of Veronica Mars<\/i>. It also feels deeply realistic (and a little too close to home) to see a couple struggle with the sort of things that come up in a relationship. And they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t always end perfectly, nor are things resolved after a single conversation. What we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re seeing is how a relationship\u00e2\u20ac\u201dand I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d argue that this includes all types, not just romantic ones\u00e2\u20ac\u201drequires work<\/i>. Constant, hard, difficult, challenging work. I am worried, though, that Veronica has gotten so wrapped up in this case that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not doing her end of the work. Logan is in therapy, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actively trying to be a better, mature person. (Can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t believe I just typed that sentence.) And Veronica is certainly getting better at communicating with Logan, but is that all that Logan needs from her? UGH I DON\u00e2\u20ac\u2122T KNOW. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve warmed up to them as a couple, and I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know whether to be worried about this or to discount it as my normal paranoia for EVERYTHING I WATCH.<\/p>\n

Comrade Quacks<\/b><\/p>\n

So, my theory at this point relates mostly to Veronica\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s final words in the episode about disappointment. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think Nicole is behind the bombings, though I understand why Keith becomes suspicious of her. Rather, the fact that she sold her bar after the first bombing suggests something else to me: this is about people not living up to their own ideals. Nicole is a very entertaining and complicated character, and her backstory here finally tells us why someone as multi-faceted as her would own a place like Comrade Quacks. It just doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem like her thing, you know? But it all makes so much more sense when we find out that she sued the previous owner after he didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t provide necessary security and she was raped. Now, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m hoping that this season doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t do that messy thing they did with the campus feminists in season 2 where they felt like constructed in odd ways to make a point. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what is happening here. Rather, I think Nicole was spooked by the first bombing, saw a way to take money, and did it, rather than stick it out and stick to her ideals.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, the collar bomb doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t fit in with this theory, since that was the only bomb like that. Also, the blast that happens in<\/i> this episode while Vinnie was in Comrade Quacks also doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make sense. Nicole looked genuinely shocked that it happened, and I also don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t understand why she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d put herself in harm\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s way like this. Ugh, I feel like I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m still missing something huge!\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Letter and the Deal<\/b><\/p>\n

So, another theory that I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m sticking to for now: the bomber didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t write that letter. I could definitely believe Penn and Carol\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s theory, that Big Dick wrote it, and that its sole purpose was to humiliate the mayor into running the streaker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s run. But it just doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t make sense as part of some greater plan. Does that mean Big Dick is still behind this? Those damn shell companies, all of which tie back to BEAVER, are certainly damning as hell, as is the plot with Weevil and Jesus. I think there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a ton of evidence that points towards this conspiracy, but do all the pieces fit together perfectly? Not quite.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Which brings me to Veronica\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s treatment of Jesus. My interpretation of that scene is that we were supposed<\/i> to feel deeply uncomfortable about Veronica dangling this kid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life in front of him. Now that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s older, I feel like she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s willing to do things she wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t when she was younger. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m also thinking of the disturbing exchange she has with Weevil earlier in the episode, where she pushes him so far that they leave even further apart than they were when he walked into her office. I get that she is desperate to solve this case, and with more potential murders to come, I also get that she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s on a time crunch. But she\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s also on a different side of this society in Neptune, as Weevil pointed out to her earlier this season. She doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t truly understand why the PCHers make the decisions they make, and how elements of their environment might nudge them in a certain direction. And yet, this dude ALSO put a knife to her throat! So I know the situation is not that binary at all. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 a mess. Which is way more realistic than anything else.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Truth<\/b><\/p>\n

Well, now Veronica knows that her father has been having memory issues. Can we officially declare Veronica and Keith as the best father-daughter duo in the history of fiction? LOOK AT VERONICA\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S REACTION! She basically said, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Fuck ethics, do what gets you better.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d I just? Have? Endless? Feelings? About these two??? Please let them be okay???<\/p>\n

The video for \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Losing Streak\u00e2\u20ac\u009d can be downloaded here for $0.99<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n

– The paperback edition of my debut, ANGER IS A GIFT, is now OUT!<\/a>\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"